He was surely the only man who could have transformed an insect-plagued island of two square miles into a Caribbean playpen favoured by Princess Margaret.
Alas, for Colin Tennant, 3rd Lord Glenconner, he not only let Mustique slip from his grasp but died before he could repeat his magic on St Lucia, to where he moved in 1992 – accompanied by his pet elephant, Bupa.
But I can disclose that now, at last, the showman’s vision is materialising some 15 years after his death aged 83, courtesy of discreet British brothers who already own ‘a collection of luxurious properties around the world’.
They’re acquiring the peer’s final property, Beau House, and have released an image showing how it will look after redevelopment.
In his later years, Glenconner lived far more modestly than he had on Mustique where, at his 50th birthday party, local youths, resplendent in gold-painted codpieces, formed an honour guard as Princess Margaret crowned him ‘King of Mustique’. In St Lucia he lorded it over not much more than a rum hut, a chicken restaurant and about 200 acres of mostly undeveloped land.
Beau House, St Lucia. The former home of Lord Glenconner
Concept image of how the house will look. Beau House has been sold and will undergo huge renovations
But he managed to create another ‘Great House’, just as he had in Mustique, with the bonus that Beau is breathtakingly sited between the Pitons, twin 2,500ft volcanic hills on St Lucia’s coast.
After his death, the property remained empty during a seven-year legal tussle between his grandson, Cody, and estate manager and carer, Kent Adonai, to whom Glenconner had bequeathed his entire estate – to his family’s bewilderment.
A settlement awarded half the land and Beau House to Cody who, in 2023, put the lot up for sale at £18million, before deciding to sell the land in smaller plots in 2024, when the house and two acres were marketed for £4.35million.
Princess Margaret and Colin Tennant at a gold-themed 50th Birthday Party of Hon Colin Tennant on Mustique
Diana’s niece and her fiance on a high
Lady Eliza Spencer, the niece of Princess Diana, is enjoying the high life with her fiance.
The model, 33, announced her engagement to businessman Channing Millerd last week, and I spotted the couple (right) celebrating at Mayfair’s highest restaurant, Shanghai Me. Earl Spencer’s daughter was also joined by her identical twin sister, Lady Amelia, who was with her husband, Greg Mallett.
The eatery is on the 28th floor of the London Hilton on Park Lane, where guests and diners can see directly into the gardens of Buckingham Palace.
Channing Millerd and Lady Eliza Spencer in 2022
Pin-up Porter: I prefer cuddly men
No need to take Ozempic or Mounjaro for a man who fancies romance with Gail Porter.
The TV presenter, whose naked image was once projected on to the Houses of Parliament, is dating again and says she would prefer to be wined and dined by a plus-sized gentleman.
Divorced from musician Dan Hipgrave, and now sporting a wig due to her alopecia, Gail, 54, says: ‘I like fat people because they are cuddly. I’d like someone to take me out for tea, or dinner. And not call me a lot.’
Gail, who works with charities including Prince William’s homelessness awareness initiative, Homewards, says: ‘I’ve been single for ten years and I’m comfortable on my own. I’ve been married once – and once is enough.’
Nico Parker at a How To Train Your Dragon screening in June
Nepo Nico is set to net a million
Often labelled a ‘nepo baby’ due to being the child of Bafta award-winning actress Thandiwe Newton and film director Ol Parker, Nico Parker (left) is amassing a fortune of her own.
I can disclose that the How To Train Your Dragon star, 20, is well on the way to making her first million.
The actress channels her earnings into a private firm, Maggie Productions, and its first trading accounts reveal that it has £871,000 in assets. It made a profit of £172,000 after bills in the year to July 2024.
Nico, who played a nanny in Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, is an ambassador for French cosmetics giant Lancome.
While Prince William has reportedly enjoyed a getaway aboard a superyacht off a Greek island, he’s giving travellers the chance to live like a king back home.
The heir to the throne is letting a holiday home on his Duchy of Cornwall estate for a staggering £5,475 a week. Clement Barn, at Tresemple, sleeps up to 12 people and that price is for a week at Christmas. Seven days in August will set you back £5,016.
‘This spectacular barn conversion has been stylishly decorated and furnished,’ the Duchy says.
Dame Joanna Lumley has discovered a silver lining to the ageing process. ‘It’s nice now that I’m granny age, as I can smile at anybody,’ the Absolutely Fabulous actress, 79, says. ‘In the olden days, if you smiled at everybody, you’d get into a few scrapes.’
The former Bond girl admits to having a ‘resting b**** face’. She says: ‘Sometimes I catch myself in a shop window and think, “Holy smoke, you look dreadful”, but if you smile, you don’t.’
Some famous figures enjoy meeting their fans. Pink Floyd star David Gilmour does not appear to be among them. Talking about being on tour, the guitarist, 79, says: ‘When we’re in these beautiful cities, we socialise, have a meal together and go out into parks or something, depending on who’s around.
‘Frankly, it’s not easy. It doesn’t take long before you’re picking up a little trail of followers. It starts getting a little tiresome. I’m quite private. I love to play music for my fans. The rest of it I consider to be my private time.’
